Way of Peace

The Way of Peace was a Chinese Taoist movement founded by Zhang Jiao during the Han dynasty. Zhang Jiao was said to have learned sorcery from a mysterious book, and he could preach to disciples and cure people's illnesses. He predicted that the blue sky of the Han dynasty would be replaced by a yellow sky, and his followers became known as the "Yellow Turbans" for the yellow scarves which they wore upon their heads to mark their devotion to the cause. Zhang Jiao sent his eight disciples across China to spread the Way of Peace, and the Way of Peace came to have a large following of commoners who were disaffected with the corruption of the Han dynasty and the power of the oppressive warlords. In 184, the Yellow Turban Rebellion broke out when the 100,000 armed Yellow Turban peasants rebelled against the Han, leading to widespread unrest and civil war in the country. Within the same year of the uprising, Zhang Jiao died of illness and his brothers Zhang Liang and Zhang Ba had been slain. The movement would survive even after the Jin dynasty as Taiping Di Jun.